This invention relates generally to tape transports and pertains more particularly to a mechanism for retracting the pressure or pinch rollers with respect to their capstans when the power is off.
If either pinch roller remains in engagement with its capstan when the transport is not being used, the roller, being of elastomeric material, becomes deformed or out of round, thereby developing "flat" spots that interfere with the steady or uniform drive of the tape relative to the tape head of the transport. Furthermore, if the tape cassette is left in the transport with either pinch roller, the pressure of the roller against the tape causes the plastic or film side of the tape to cling to the capstan with the consequence that the tape is prone to wrap around the capstan during either the next play or fast rewind mode.